Columns

Brown's elitist problem

Moraff '14: Jill Stein for President

The winner of this election will be one of two terrible men.

Johnson '14: Barack Obama for President

Four years ago, America was heading into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Today, the economy is getting better. We have ended the war in Iraq, we are pulling troops out of Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden is dead. In these trying times, President Obama has provided steady leadership, ...

Fuerbacher '14: Mitt Romney for President

"Hope" and "change" were the key words that candidate Barack Obama infused into his campaign rhetoric four years ago. Today, with an additional $5.5 trillion in U.S. debt, elevated unemployment and no clear foreign policy, all the United States can hope for is change. If the country is to move forward, ...

Rosenbloom '13: Withholding judgment about career choices

While Brown students tend not to be judgmental in regard to most personal decisions, when it comes to career choices, we can be a very critical group. During the fall recruiting process, I've overheard many classmates dismiss careers in consulting and investment banking as morally bankrupt. Such blanket ...

Brown Republicans: Time for a change

In 2008, we elected a little-known junior senator from Illinois on the foundation of "hope" and "change," but it took less than four years for most Americans to become disillusioned. Our modern-day Robin Hood has not lined our pockets with the excess wealth of the greedy 1 percent - he has left us with ...

Moffat '13: Rebuttal

Like most advocates of drug prohibition, Pfaff completely ignores the enormous and innumerable social costs of criminalizing drugs. He seems unfazed by the fact that the incarceration and criminalization of drug users devastates millions of families every year, distracts law enforcement officers from ...

Pfaff '14: Rebuttal

I suspect that Jared and I actually have pretty similar views when it comes to society's treatment of drugs and alcohol, especially the harmful effects of legal action against drug users and drug distributors. The war on drugs has definitely not done what it set out to do, and there's a frightening ...

Moffat '13: All drugs should be decriminalized

Our drug policies should be aimed at reducing drug misuse, preventing exposure to children and making communities safer. Advocates of drug prohibition typically cite these goals when defending "tough on crime" drug laws, but the empirical data simply doesn't support their argument.

Pfaff '14: Drugs shouldn't be decriminalized

Tell me, who's your favorite celebrity who's now dead because of drugs? John Belushi? Chris Farley? Mitch Hedberg? These are just famous examples of the myriad people who have had their lives destroyed by drug abuse. If we decriminalize drugs - cocaine, heroin, crystal meth and all others - deaths like ...

Gianotti '13: Affirmative action as a means to meritocracy

In a meritocracy, those who display the greatest ability become the ruling elite. Is this not the basis of the American dream - the belief that talent and hard work can raise you to the highest echelons of society?

Tennis '14: Let's get real about breast cancer

October just recently came to a close - with a hurricane of epic proportions. It is the month that signifies the beginning of fall, pumpkin lattes, Halloween and rich, autumnal hues. But October is also a pink month because it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Just a few weeks ago, the bright pink Gloria ...

Brown Democrats: Why we're voting Democratic this election day

Ingber '15: An unsavory alliance

As I walked to class just the other day, I was struck by the large "fence" erected on the Main Green opposite Sayles Hall. Covered with spray paint and graffiti-esque writing, I knew this was either a political demonstration or modern art exhibit. Curious, I walked closer and saw two tables in front ...

Mayo '13: What to do about Iran?

Last week, President Obama and former governor Mitt Romney met in Boca Raton, Fla., for the final presidential debate of this election cycle. They each presented their own vision for American foreign policy in the years ahead and provided some ideas on recent developments. While the President's recent ...

Katz '14: The means-ends relationship with our education

During the week preceding the Oct. 2 deadline to change course grade options, my peers engaged me in countless conversations over which grade option they should choose for certain classes, analyzing the pros and cons of each option and aggressively soliciting my opinion. During each of these discussions, ...

Newlon's Rebuttal: Should the University ban smoking near buildings?

Newlon '14.5: Should the University ban smoking near buildings?

When I walk outside the Rockefeller Library or my dorm room, I feel vaguely like I've stepped into a 1960s bar on an episode of "Mad Men."

Carty '15: Should the University ban smoking near buildings?

Banning smoking near Brown campus buildings is ill-advised because such a ban does not advance public health or change personal incentives in any meaningful way.

Carty's Rebuttal: Should the University ban smoking near buildings?